Frederick, Lord North K.G., later 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732–1792)

Ramsay's 1761 portrait of Frederick, Lord North — later 2nd Earl of Guilford and Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782, the minister under whose administration the American colonies declared independence — captures him at twenty-nine years old, before his great political career had fully begun. At this date North had just entered the House of Commons and was beginning his ascent through junior government positions. A 1761 portrait by Ramsay, at precisely the moment he was appointed Principal Painter to George III, places this commission within the circle of young political men who were building connections to the new king's court. North's later notoriety as the minister who 'lost' America makes this early portrait document of considerable historical interest.

A young politician's portrait in 1761 required the formal conventions of Georgian gentleman portraiture without the specific professional costume that would distinguish a judge, bishop, or military officer. Ramsay's 1761 style — influenced by his second Italian visit of 1754-57 and the lighter, more aerial palette he developed there — gives the portrait its characteristic luminosity within formal compositional constraints.